where to source pure soft lead

[robert bw]

do yall know a good source of pure soft lead?im thinking roof flashing.any other ideas?thanks.

 

[coloradoclyde]

easiest way is to order it from Rotometals.com or Zipmetals.com

 

[Katahdin]

Boat Yards,,sail boat keels,lead ballast weights.Might be some salvage from Storms still available.

 

[Coot]

The easiest to get and to be a known quality is to order from Rotometals. Cheaper is to check with plumbers, roofers or junkyards but you will have to rely on yourself to test for hardness. I get mine for free from a local stained glass shop - just doing my part as the hazard waste disposal guy :grin:

 

[Tom Compton]

A couple of years ago I bought 100 lbs +~ of lead pipe at a scrap metal yard for $.65 or $.75 a lb. good stuff.

 

[MountainRanger]

like they all said- check with local roofers, plumbers, junk (salvage) yards, etc. I've even had some good luck buying lead from eBay when I couldn't find any locally. Stop and talk to roofers when you see a crew working on a house. If they can't put you right on some, they may have a suggestion of where to ask locally.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I used to use roof flashings, and lead pipe (avoid the soldered seams,or use for smoothbore), but the purest salvage lead I found came from a hospital that was remolding the x-ray rooms.The lead sheeting in the walls was truely pure. :idunno:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Yeah, Lead sheeting from old radiology rooms is like stiff, thick, tin foil it's so soft. You have to keep an eye out for old doctor-office buildings that are going to be torn down, as they will have the sheeting, as well as older hospitals doing upgrades.

Sailboat ballast is good BUT it's often in huge chunks, so it's soft, but you need something more like a wood saw not a hack saw to break it down into chunks to fit into your melting pot. The fine teeth of a standard hacksaw blade get clogged with the soft lead....or you might use a torch and suspend the lead over a pot and melt it into the pot....

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

Sailboat ballast is good BUT it's often in huge chunks, so it's soft, but you need something more like a wood saw not a hack saw to break it down into chunks to fit into your melting pot. The fine teeth of a standard hacksaw blade get clogged with the soft lead....or you might use a torch and suspend the lead over a pot and melt it into the pot....

I used a hatchet and a 3 pound hammer...Pure lead chops quite easily. And no wasted lead sawdust.

 

[bubba.50]

X-ray lead comes wrapped in lead foil so, I have heard of people makin' deals to haul off a dentist's "hazardous waste".

 

[mooman76]

Stick on WWs while not pure are very soft and can be used. Also lead used for making the stained glass windows id very soft.